meeting at a festival au
by DearieMate
Summary: Emma attends a weekend music festival with her best friend Ruby, and meets the handsome and mysterious Killian Jones while at a concert. Rated T, for now, for language.
1. Chapter 1

"Come on, I think the next set starts on the East Lawn," Ruby calls, grabbing Emma's hand and pulling her through the crowd.

She'd never been to one of these things before, but apparently this was one of the largest music festivals on the East coast, and her best friend Ruby had bought tickets 8 months ago for the two of them as college graduation gifts.

As far as she could tell, Emma didn't think that there was _that much _to get excited about. Sleeping in tents in the middle of the summer left much to be desired (_god, how she missed air conditioning_) and the herds upon herds of sweaty hipsters everywhere were starting to catch her last nerve.

It certainly wasn't all bad, though. Everyone was dressed to the nines in the brightest possible colors (she'd never seen so many high waisted shorts in her entire life), running around and being with their friends, and not to mention the music…

She was able to look past all the bad things though (like guys giving her and Ruby double takes everywhere they walked - it probably didn't help that Ruby was wearing next to nothing in the name of 'freedom of expression'), because of the music. A lot of her favorite bands were playing that weekend, and she had an all access pass to all of the concerts.

This night in particular, one of her all time favorites, Young the Giant, was playing the headlining show. They had two openers, both of which Emma had never heard of. Figures. They'd have to sit through at least an hour of random music before the good stuff started.

Luckily, the sun was setting a bit, so the air started to cool off and everyone could breathe just a little bit easier. It was beautiful out there, near the mountains. Out in the distant sky, some stars were starting to peek out through the blue.

All around them, other people were finding their spots, waiting for the concert to start. Some people took the easy route and laid out blankets on the lawn, but Ruby refused.

"Emma, we have to get up there!" She whined.

Emma raised her brow, knowing she's going to give in eventually anyway. "Ruby, there's hundreds of people up there-it's completely chaotic."

"For fucks sake, Emma. Take a chance for once. We made it all the way out here for these concerts, you could at least try. You may just have the experience of a lifetime."

Emma rolled her eyes and sighed as her hands dropped to her sides. "Fine, let's go."

Ruby's eyes lit up, and they set off into the crowd.

After a few minutes, the lights dimmed down for the first opening band. The crowd cheered, ready to start. As Emma got settled in to her spot, she took the chance to look around in the crowd, just to be sure she had an escape route if need be.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, and suddenly-

Holy. Shit.

Her gaze had fallen onto a group of guys nearby, in the center of which stood one in particular: tall, dark hair, jean shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a dark v-neck tshirt and dark jeans, and **completely** gorgeous. She couldn't make herself look away. She nudged Ruby's arm in excitement.

"Ruby, look over to my right, but don't make it obvious."

"Why?" Ruby shouted.

"Just DO IT you idiot," she smiled.

Ruby turned to look, and when she finally spotted who Emma wanted her to, she could hear an audible gasp escape her friend's mouth.

Next thing Emma knew, the guy was turning around to say something to his friend, smiling (_dear god that smile)_ and he looked up, only to catch her looking right at him.

She could feel the heat rushing up to her cheeks as she turned abruptly back to face the stage-practically dying of embarrassment.

"Oh my god," Emma says, trying not to contort her face to match her tone. "Ruby, DO NOT look over there again. He saw me."

When she looked away from the band for a split second, Ruby's head was already turned, and when she looked the same way, she saw him walking over.

Walking over _to her_.

He was nudging his way through the crowd, and as he got closer, she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Ruby turned around first to face him. He smiled and tried to speak up over the crowd.

"Enjoying the show?" he asked, and it became very clear to them both that he had an accent. A heavenly European accent.

"Yeah, they're great," Ruby said, nudging Emma to turn and face him and respond.

Emma tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and turns. "They're all right."

"Just alright?" he guy is looking right at her, smiling like an idiot, like he's completely enamored with every word she utters.

"Name's Killian," he says. "Who might you lovely ladies be?"

"Uh, my name's Ruby," she says, pausing for Emma.

"Emma," she nods, turning back to the stage, trying to act like her stomach is not doing flips at the mere thought of him standing next to her.

"Nice to meet you, Ruby and Emma," he says, putting particular emphasis on Emma's name.

He continues. "Listen, uh, my buddies and I-" he gestures over to his group of friends, who are huddled together, obviously watching this interaction take place- "we're going to hang out after the show tonight, maybe get some drinks, maybe walk around the lawns and see if we can meet any band members walking about. And I-we were just wondering," he pauses here to scratch behind his ear, which was quite possibly the most adorable thing Emma had ever seen, and then he continues,

"Care to join us?" And yet again, he's looking directly at Emma. (WHY did his eyes have to be that blue?)

Emma's eyebrow lifts at Ruby, who looks ecstatic.

"Yeah, absolutely, we'd love to!" Ruby says.

"Great," he says. "That settles it, then. Right after the show, we'll be over there by the media booth."

"Okay," Ruby smiles, clearly excited.

"See you both later, then, I hope," he says to Emma. After Ruby turns back around to watch the band, he leans over to Emma, his hand lightly touching her shoulder, whispering right in her ear (and most definitely not sending shivers up her spine),

"Hope you like the next band a bit better, Emma."

And with that, he walked away to rejoin his group of friends. A few minutes later, they were leaving the huge crowd, but not without one last glance and smile across the way from Killian.

The first band finally finished their set, and about 15 minutes later, the lights go back down for the second opening band.

The imminent meeting with Killian and his friends was toying with Emma's nerves, and she needed some air. It had been awhile since she done this whole-_hey I like you let's hook up-_thing, and she wasn't entirely sure if she was ready.

Just as she was about to tell Ruby she was going to get some air, Ruby grabbed her arm and squeezed it.

"EMMA. OH MY GOD."

"What?" Emma says, yanking her arm out of Ruby's grip.

Ruby's eyes were glued to the stage, and when Emma's followed their trail, her breath hitched in her throat.

Killian, along with a few guys from the crowd, _were walking onto the stage, waving and smiling. _

Emma couldn't help but smile. "What the hell?"

Killian stepped up to the mic (oh god-of course he's the lead) and smiled.

"Hey, everybody-thanks for coming out tonight! How's the weekend going for everybody so far?!" and he paused as the crowd cheered. He swung a guitar over his shoulder and continued.

"Well I gotta tell you," he says, scratching behind his ear again, his beautifully accented voice echoing throughout the park, "My weekend was actually pretty shitty until a few minutes ago, when I met the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life."

The crowd whooped and cheered, Emma's stomach dropped, and Ruby squealed with excitement.

"So anyway," Killian says, "we're called Land and Sea, and I'd like to dedicate this song to my new friend, Emma. Emma, this is for you, darling. I hope you like it."

"That bastard," Emma smiled, in utter disbelief that this was happening.

And as his voice carried over the lawn all the way to her, _for her, _she couldn't help but think Ruby was right. _  
_

This was the experience of a lifetime. And the best part was, the night was still young.


	2. Chapter 2

Ruby _would not _shut up.

"Emma, oh my god!" She says it about every five minutes, as if Emma had already forgotten what had just happened.

Yes, she had just met the lead singer of a band. Yes, he had just called her the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Yes, he'd just sung a song for her in front of hundreds, maybe thousands of people.

Yes, she was in a lot of trouble.

"Ruby, can it. You're making me anxious."

Ruby just laughs and rolls her eyes. "You're always anxious when it comes to guys, Em."

Emma bites back. "Yeah, with good reason!"

Ruby turns to her and smiles sympathetically, recognizing the painful undertones of her friend's comment.

She touches Emma's arm reassuringly. "Look, Em. I know that in the past, guys have screwed you over..."

Emma rolls her eyes again and nods (you can say that again).

"But," Ruby continues, "none of those guys were hot European dudes who are the lead singers of bands."

This makes Emma smile (those blue eyes...that accent..._god)._

"It just feels too soon," she says admittedly.

"It's been 6 months, Em. I think it's time you let him go. Neal was a douchelord anyway."

(Ruby had a knack for coming up with her own insults. Or maybe she just watched too much _Keeping Up With the Kardashians)._

_"_Yeah, well," Emma says, "in any case, it's been awhile since I've done this."

"It's okay," Ruby says, smiling. "We can figure this all out together. I had my eye on the base player anyway..._Victor."_

She says him name with a sort of growl, and Emma can't help but laugh. What the hell had they gotten themselves into?

Killian's band, _Land and Sea, _finally left the stage, and about 20 minutes later, the lights dimmed again to announce the start of the headlining show.

Emma could hardly contain her excitement as one of her favorite bands, Young the Giant, walks out onto the stage.

(It was a welcome distraction).

The show was phenomenal. They sounded better than they did on their own record. She and Ruby sang every song they knew with excitement and vigor, all the while knowing that the time was getting closer to when she would see Killian again.

A couple hours later, the crowd was dissipating out of the pavilion, and she could feel the knots in her stomach beginning to tighten.

"You ready?" Ruby says, eyeing the media tent.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

They walk through the crowd towards the tent, where the opening bands were out selling tshirts and signing autographs for the fans. The line was long, particularly for Killian's band (they really had the crowd going) and she started to feel a little uneasy again.

"Ruby, maybe we should just go. We're gonna be waiting here for awhile."

"Shut up, Emma."

She knew that wasn't going to work. Ruby knew her too well.

They had to stand on their tiptoes to see over the crowd gathered around the tent. Ruby was of course taller than her, because she for some unforeseen reason decided to wear stilettos to a concert in the mountains.

"Emma! I see him! Over there!"

She points over to the corner of the tent, where a member of the press seems to be interviewing Killian. His arms are crossed (_dear god-the biceps), _ and his eyes are focused on the reporter. He nods as if he's about to answer a question, and then looks up.

Once again, his eyes meet hers across the crowd.

(breathing? who needs it.)

His face instantly softens, and his lips turn up into a smile.

Full of hope.

He turns back to the reporter and says something to the effect of 'I'll be right back,' and then walks back through the tent. When he gets to the other side, he looks at them and waves.

"Emma! Ruby! Over here!"

The girls smile at each other, and hold hands as they push their way through the line of people. Emma could feel everyone's eyes on them as they finally made it up to the booth.

His eyes were definitely on her.

"Hello again," he says, goofy smile still on his face. "Enjoy the show?"

"Yesss, oh my god," Ruby sighs. "You guys were amazing!"

He does a little bow and smiles back. "Thank you, m'lady."

Ruby giggles a little bit, and when he stands back up straight, his eyes are locked with Emma's again.

"What about you, Ms. Swan?"

Emma smiles. "Yeah, uhh...you guys were great. And Young the Giant was incredible."

"Yeah, yeah," he says. "Those guys are really awesome people. One of my favorite bands, for sure. It's quite the privilege to be able to open for them."

"I bet," Ruby says, awestruck. "Hey Killian?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we meet the rest of the band?"

He smiles and nods, waving for her to come behind the booth. He raises a hand to the security guard nearby to let him know, 'It's okay, they're with me.'

_It's okay, she's with him._

They walk behind the media tent towards another, where the bands meet after the show for refreshments.

"Oi!" Killian calls across the tent, and a few guys inside look up. Emma can tell that they recognize her and Ruby.

"Fellas, meet Ruby and Emma," he says, gesturing to the girls as the other guys walked over. "Girls, this is the band. Victor here plays base-"

"Hi!" Ruby says, stretching out a hand to him. "Nice to meet you."

He takes it and returns the sentiment, and Emma can't help but to nudge Ruby with her elbow afterwards.

Killian continues. "This here's Robin, on guitar and cello, and David here plays the drums."

The girls said hello to each of them, and then followed them all into the tent. Emma stuck as close to Ruby as possible, but eventually her friend left her sitting alone at one of the tables so she could talk to Victor.

She wasn't sure where Killian went. Probably off to finish dealing with the press and fans.

A few minutes later, he returns to the refreshments tent, and immediately their eyes lock.

(They have a habit of doing that.)

He smiles and then strides over, sitting down next to Emma. Her stomach had so many butterflies she felt as though she may throw some of them up.

"Hi," he says simply.

She smiles. "Hi."

Suddenly he's spitting words out like he's been holding them in for hours.

"Did I embarrass you earlier? With the song, I mean. Because if I did, that was not my intention."

Emma laughs. "No, no. I wasn't embarrassed. Just surprised."

"And flattered, I hope?" he asks, an eyebrow arching up as he awaits an answer.

Emma looks down, trying to conceal her blushing cheeks by playing with her fingers.

"Yeah, very flattered."

"Now _that,"_ he says, "was absolutely my intention."

He stands up then, and stretches a hand towards her.

"You wanna get out of here?" he asks.

She bites her bottom lip, unsure of what to do. She looks around, only to see Ruby and Victor sitting in another corner, sitting extremely close. She had a feeling that they would be occupied for awhile.

For the second time that evening, she thinks Ruby probably was right. Perhaps it was time to finally move on from Neal, and every other jerk who had ever broken her heart.

Her gaze drifts back up to Killian, whose hand is still there waiting for her. His head cocks to the side in an adorable puppy dog sort of way, trying to charm her.

And damn if it wasn't working.

She smiles and grabs his hand as he helps her up (and if she feels a jolt in her stomach at his touch, she doesn't ever think about it again. Nope. Never).

"Where to?" he asks, leading her out of the tent and into the cool night mountain air.

"Anywhere," she says, shoulders shrugging.

"I think I've got just the place," he says, smiling. "Follow me."


End file.
